MSCA Fellow - Demography of historical influenza pandemics 2019

Call for Expression of Interest for mutual application under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship scheme

Centre for Welfare and Labour Research

The Centre for Welfare and Labour Research (SVA) consists of Work Research Institute (AFI), Norwegian Social Research (NOVA), Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR), and Consumption Research Norway (SIFO).

We hereby invite top-class researchers of any nationality, at any stage in their career after having obtained a PhD degree, for the study of social determinants or consequences of the 1918-20 “Spanish flu” pandemic or other historical influenza pandemics to apply for a EU-funded Marie Skłodowska Curie Action Individual Fellowship (MSCA-IF-2019) to conduct research at OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan University for a period of 2 years. The topic is timely aligned with the centenary of the 1918-20 pandemic in 2018-20.

Areas of research

The candidates should address questions such as: What types of social and ethnic groups were more and which less, affected by the pandemic? What are the most important biological, historical and social factors that influenced the differential impact of the pandemic among groups? What is the role of differential exposure, susceptibility and access to care in social inequalities in pandemic outcomes? The impact on indigenous people, especially in Australia, is a topic where we need more research. What effect, if any, did the pandemic have on social relations and future health and social developments? Specifically, did it have an impact on poverty, mental health and suicides, marriage, fertility, migration and social mobility? How did the survivors of the disease and the bereaved spouses and children cope socially and economically later in life? Did bereaved widows remarry or were she forced to sell the farm, move and establish a new home elsewhere? Also, did the knowledge of differential social and ethnic susceptibility during historical pandemics affect subsequent preventive public health actions or the development of the welfare policies (e.g. pension for widows) and the modern welfare state? And, how do these insights help us prepare for avoiding socially unjust outcomes of future pandemics? Candidates studying the birth of historical and current influenza preparedness plans are also welcomed. Finally, candidates using data from the global south or who takes a global rather than a national view, is especially welcomed.

Successful candidates will be supervised by Research Professor Svenn-Erik Mamelund. He has 24 years’ experience studying the demography of epidemic diseases and has published extensively on the 1918 influenza pandemic, influenza in general and preparedness planning. For more information on Mamelund, see profile at Research Gate.

With this call for Expression of Interest, we invite researchers to submit their resumé (including Track-Record) and a one-page project description, that will be the basis for selecting a maximum of two candidates with whom we will collaborate for developing competitive MSCA-IF proposals. In this first phase, the cooperation will be carried out remotely, with regular communication via email and Skype, and one physical meeting, if convenient. If applicants are successful in the funding application, the work place will be at the Work Research Institute, OsloMet main campus, located in the center of Oslo.

Starting Date

The EU informs the results on the MSCA-IF applications in February 2020. Successful candidate(s) are expected to be available to start within the following two months and no later than summer 2020. The candidates must be assessed as in principle eligible for aMarie Curie Individual Fellowship.

Main duties of the position

The successful candidate will primarily work on the Marie Curie funded project, but will be integrated at the Work Research Institute in general, taking part in regular meetings and discussion groups; also the candidate will specifically be introduced with Prof. Mamelunds’ national and international network of researchers on the field of influenza. In agreement with the candidate, he/she may also be included in other ongoing influenza projects and/or in proposal development processes.

Research Experience:

Good individual scientific research capabilities;

Preferably already the first author of several scientific journal research papers;

Language skills: English

The qualifying applicants

Candidates must have a PhD in historical demography, economic history, epidemiology, medical biostatistics-, history- or anthropology and global health, as the minimum requirement. But, we are primarily looking for experienced researchers who wish to use this period as an opportunity to further develop their research, and to develop longer term research collaborations with OsloMet and other institutions conducting research in the field. The candidates will be assessed as in principle must be eligible for a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship.

We are looking for applicants who have

Excellent skills in statistical methods and in using statistical programs such as SAS, Stata etc.

Knowledge of historical context and quality and availability of historical data in the field.

An excellent track record in research and publications, necessary for being able to develop a competitive Marie Curie Fellowship application

An open and cooperation oriented nature, but with strong abilities for independent academic work.

It is important for OsloMet to reflect the population of our region, and all qualified candidates are welcome to apply. We make active efforts to further develop as an inclusive workplace and to adapt the workplace if required.

Evaluation Committee

Interested candidates should upload their resume (incl. Track Record) and a one-page note describing the project for which a Marie Curie grant will be applied.

The candidate(s) selected to proceed with a full MSCA-IF application (due in September 2019) will be supported by Research Professor Svenn-Erik Mamelund, and by the professional research administration staff at OsloMet. Originals must be presented if you are invited for an interview. OsloMet performs document inspections in order to give you as a candidate a proper evaluation and ensure fair competition. Proposals will be pre-selected based on internal evaluation and the availability of suitable supervision. A maximum of six candidates will be invited for a skype interview, and a maximum of three candidates will be invited to submit a proposal to the EU funded MSCA-IF programme. Candidates will be informed of the results of the pre-selection by March 23th, 2019.

Selected candidates will be invited to meet the supervisor and visit the research environment at OsloMet to further develop the proposal organised by OsloMet in May 2019.

The candidate(s) selected to proceed with a full Marie Curie Application will be supported by the OsloMet EU team and the leader of the research group. Deadline for submission of Application is September 11th, 2019.

Originals must be presented if you are invited for an interview. OsloMet performs document inspections in order to give you as a candidate a proper evaluation and ensure fair competition.